Chapter 48: The Knight Descending from the Sky (3) To Tiana, it felt as if the sky itself were collapsing. A silver meteor flashed through the dim twilight of dawn, striking the earth with a thunderous gale. It was Maximilian's Knight Descent. Falling from a high altitude, he had precisely severed Dune Khan's head.
Pshhhhhhh!
Steam hissed from the headless corpse. Like air escaping a massive balloon, the creature spewed mana for a long moment before finally going limp.
"...."
"...."
An uncharacteristic silence settled over the battlefield.
A knight had surged down from the distant heavens, swinging his sword. It was a sniper's strike, intended to fell a single target. It looked as if the full moon itself had struck the enemy's neck. Everyone stared blankly at Maximilian, who stood enveloped in a silver shockwave.
"Move!"
Leon and Tiana snapped back to their senses at Julian's command. They sprinted toward their next target—Emulen.
Emulen stood dazed. He seemed unable to believe the death of Dune Khan, which had unfolded right before his eyes.
On the battlefield, an opponent who loses focus is nothing more than prey. Leon and Tiana cut him down simultaneously from his left and right.
After that, they launched a counteroffensive alongside the mercenaries.
The Gentra grunts, having lost their focal point, were cut down while fleeing or resisting. Before long, the entire situation was brought to a close.
"Ah... I'm exhausted."
Morning was slowly breaking. Tiana massaged her bruised shoulder as she surveyed the area.
The harbor was a disaster. Numerous containers had been torn apart like taffy. The corpses of many mercenaries were piled among the cargo.
"...."
Tiana looked at the mercenary from Acarius who had been reduced to just a torso. She smacked her lips bitterly and turned back to Max. He was leaning against a container.
"Knight Descent," she muttered to herself.
An overwhelming assault that combined the kinetic and potential energy of high-altitude movement with mana to literally crush the target. The claim that it was the 'most destructive application' of a knight felt less like an exaggeration and more like an understatement.
After all, this entire battlefield had been settled by that single variable.
Meanwhile, the cleanup team from Escul arrived. Julian stepped forward to block them as they approached the bodies of Emulen and Dune Khan.
"We will recover and hand over these two bodies ourselves."
Julian quietly presented his knight identification. The cleanup crew nodded, seemingly having grasped the situation.
From their perspective, it wasn't a bad deal. Normally, they would have all been killed and the cargo stolen, but thanks to the knights, they had at least saved the goods.
Whirrrrrrrr—
Just then, a helicopter landed with a deafening roar. A single person stepped out.
Red hair tied high in a ponytail. A black cloak fluttering in the wind. She wore a crisp Acarius uniform that seemed to mimic the Knight Order's attire, but what stood out most were her old, dust-covered sneakers.
It was the leader of the Acarius Mercenaries—'Ren.'
She stood before the subordinate whose head had been blown apart. She pulled a small mana stone fragment shaped like a four-leaf clover from her breast pocket, tossed it onto the corpse, and snapped her fingers.
Whoosh!
Blue flames erupted, incinerating the body into ash in an instant.
"...What is that woman doing?"
Max answered Tiana's whisper.
"It's the Acarius code."
The Acarius Mercenaries never allowed the recovery of a fallen member's body. Burial and autopsies were also forbidden. It was part of their contract. Even the bodies of the members were ultimately the property of Acarius.
Ren watched in silence as her subordinate turned into a handful of ash, then turned around and boarded the helicopter. Her face was obscured by her red hair as she departed.
"Move out. We're leaving too."
At Julian's word, everyone prepared to depart. They placed their precious spoils of war—Dune Khan's head and body, and the left and right halves of Emulen—into separate stasis bags.
* * *
We were awarded medals in recognition of our achievement in slaying the Gentra mid-level executive Emulen and the Red-level wanted criminal Dune Khan.
Tiana and Leon received the Golden Lion Medal 3rd Class for the first time. As for me, my two previous medals were combined with this new one, and I was promoted to the Golden Lion Medal 2nd Class.
Julian received a special reward as the mission commander. Two 2nd Class Golden Lion Medals already shone on his chest.
"A shame you narrowly missed the record for the youngest," Julian said, looking at me after the ceremony.
"Which youngest record is that?"
"The 2nd Class Medal."
"Ah. The youngest record is probably..."
"Commander-in-Chief Zebestian."
Zebestian had joined the Western War immediately after being dubbed a knight. He achieved monstrous feats there and was later swept up in the succession struggle of the imperial family, which he also led to victory.
There was no defeat in his life. Zebestian was an aristocrat who had never once failed.
"Max. Your contribution was the greatest in this operation. I will state as much in the report to headquarters."
I nodded at Julian's words.
"Thank you."
"The Knight Descent also proved its utility. I will formally suggest the establishment of a program to the Knight Order."
"Yes. I will sponsor all the associated costs."
Julian stared at me intently.
"The Knight Order leadership will likely review it favorably. There's no need for you to use your private funds."
I gave a bitter smile.
Contrary to what Julian thought, the Knight Order was a rigid organization. Furthermore, there were factions within the Order that feared an increase in the Empire's war-making capabilities.
Anton was exactly that kind of man. They believed war was a cruel waste that killed future generations.
They were absolutely right.
If only it weren't for 'Izenheim.'
"No. The Knight Order will only move if I do that."
The leadership would surely find fault using the budget as an excuse, and I had no intention of letting things be delayed.
"I suppose that's possible."
Julian didn't try to persuade me a second time. I didn't know if he had given up or if he understood my intent.
Julian had always been that kind of person.
"Good work."
"Yes, sir."
I walked out to the parking lot, got into my car, and headed for the mansion.
By the time I arrived home, night had already fallen.
I took a quick shower and lay down on the bed.
"...."
I couldn't sleep. My eyes were wide open.
For some reason, everything that happened yesterday felt like a dream.
I had cut off that bastard's head.
Wait, did I really?
The adrenaline of that moment had surged so intensely that even my memories felt jumbled.
However, one fact was certain.
"It wasn't Izenheim."
Neither Dune Khan nor Emulen were Izenheim.
In the future, among the enemies I would face, there would be far more who were not Izenheim.
To purge an entire race, one must stir up the entire world.
War.
Ultimately, a massive war would break out, and the Knight Descent was a method of utilizing knights solely to win that war.
"...To survive."
To avoid destruction, the Empire would have to kill countless people.
Step by step, we were advancing toward that future.
I hadn't closed my eyes when I decapitated Dune Khan.
Because I now knew a fear far greater than that.
* * *
Dieter secured an aerial training ground and a transport plane. Even for Dieter, getting a transport plane was quite a struggle, but it turned out that one of the companies I had invested in within the Kanilan Independent State was an aircraft developer. I obtained a state-of-the-art model on the condition of additional investment.
I posted a flyer I had prepared next to my office door.
[Knight Order Autonomous Research Group: Aerial Assault Workshop]
Even if the Knight Order accepted my proposal, it would take at least several months to be integrated into the formal curriculum. So, I planned to give the knights a taste of skydiving before then.
Some senior knights might dismiss it as a mere hobby or the frivolous spending of a reckless noble, but rumors of our mission would soon spread quickly.
Knights are a breed driven by the desire for self-improvement. Only those kinds of people become knights in the first place.
If I just waited a little, they would come looking for me on their own, practically begging, 'Please, let us fly—' and from that point on, I intended to be selective.
My faction would begin here.
"Good."
I nodded with satisfaction, looking at the fairly well-made workshop poster.
....
Lately, officials from the Imperial Knight Order were being summoned to the Imperial Palace day after day.
It was a sign that the appointment of a new Knight Commander was imminent.
"I heard they were asking casual, personal questions. About Vice-Commander Anton."
Chiron gathered the opinions of the knights. He contacted not only the Sentinels and knights from other divisions but also retired knights who had opened their own offices.
"Most of them said they just answered honestly. 'He is a wonderful person, but he doesn't have the caliber of a Commander'...."
The noble knights pretended to respect Anton on the surface, but there was clear underlying resentment.
He was a fallen noble—though calling him that was a stretch. His family had collapsed not one, but two generations ago. How could the son of a commoner whose father had no title be considered a fallen noble?
He was practically a commoner.
"And, this is what you mentioned last time."
A subordinate knight handed over the mission report Julian had submitted to headquarters. Chiron skimmed the contents.
[...Faced a crisis during the operation due to the unexpected appearance of the Red-level wanted criminal 'Dune Khan,' but the mission was successful thanks to the effectiveness of the aerial assault operation proposed by Knight Maximilian...]
"Dune Khan?"
It was a name Chiron knew. Dune Khan. A core combatant of Gentra and a heinous criminal wanted throughout the Empire.
"Maximilian took down Dune Khan?"
"Yes. That's what it says. It's described in detail below."
Chiron read the report again.
[...Knight Maximilian carried out a direct strike on the target 'Dune Khan' after a high-altitude descent, decapitating the target in a single assault...]
Chiron fell into thought for a moment.
A knight falling from the sky. To his aristocratic common sense, it was hard to accept such nonsense. It was an act unbecoming of a knight's dignity and prestige.
However, the one who had pulled this off, Maximilian, was a noble of the highest rank in the Empire.
"There's a poster up in front of Maximilian's office right now. It's for an aerial assault workshop, saying if you sign up, he'll let you ride the transport plane—"
"Then go and sign up for now."
"Yes, sir."
The subordinate knights didn't dare argue with Chiron's command.
Or perhaps, they secretly wanted to learn it themselves.
That was likely the case. Hearing that Maximilian, whom they had looked down upon since the Empire Point incident, had suddenly taken the head of a Red-level wanted criminal must have piqued their greed.
....
Tiana stared at the crude poster plastered to the wall of Maximilian's office.
[Knight Order Autonomous Research Group: Aerial Assault]
Falling from an altitude of thousands of meters was terrifying, but the Max she had seen at the harbor that day was undeniably powerful.
It was well worth learning, and more than anything, she didn't want to fall behind Max.
She picked up an application form from the table next to the poster.
"Oh? Tiana?"
Tiana turned around. It was Leon. He was already holding a ballpoint pen to fill out the application.
"You too?"
It wasn't just Leon. Behind him, four or five other knights were crowding around, trying to grab application forms.
"Wh-what? I was here first!"
Without a moment's further hesitation, Tiana took her place right at the front of Max's office door.
....
Kanilan Independent State.
Ren, the leader of Acarius, spent the night rewatching the harbor CCTV footage she had obtained.
"Hmm...."
In her blue eyes, the silver flash descending from the firmament was reflected. She had seen this light of mana before, a light that seemed to hold the color of the moon.
Zebestian.
But there was no way he would have come here.
Click.
She paused the CCTV at a certain moment. It was an angle where the face of the knight who had decapitated Dune Khan while falling from the sky was faintly visible. His hair was black, but it was obviously a disguise.
"...Ebenholtz."
Without a doubt, it was Zebestian's son: Maximilian.
Knock, knock.
Ren turned off the CCTV footage. Outside the window, morning had already arrived.
"Come in."
Vice-Captain Jesic entered. He was with some young boy.
"Captain. I've brought someone quite decent."
The Vice-Captain had high standards. Extremely high. His eyes were practically on the crown of his head.
"A decent one, you say?"
"Yes. He's been scrubbing the mercenary group's toilets for a month... but when I sparred with him once, he held his own quite well."
"What's your name?"
The boy answered Ren's question.
"...I am called Shane."
Ren stared intently at the boy with blue hair and blue eyes.
The flickering of the pupils. The minute tremors of the skin. Those alone were enough to distinguish truth from lies.
"Don't lie in front of me."
"...."
"Hey. Kick this guy out."
"It's Akad!"
Akad. There must be a reason he hid his name.
"Do you want to be a mercenary?"
"Yes."
"The reason?"
"I heard this is the best mercenary group. I want to hone my skills here."
"And why should we use our money to train you?"
"Yes."
Akad answered brazenly. That brazenness was secretly to her liking.
"I will not accept a single cent for any mission I perform."
Ren liked the look in the boy's eyes as he pushed back.
"Then, tell me the most honest truth. Why do you want to hone your skills?"
Akad seemed to hesitate for a moment, taking a deep breath.
"I am a noble of the Empire. My family was framed for treason. I will surely return there and restore the honor of my house and my family."
He finally revealed his very sincere origin.
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